Supermarkets discussion

[Hadders]

How long before stores become like Arkwrights again with a majority of items behind the counter?

Supermarkets generally avoid this because putting an item behind a counter kills sales and therefore profit.

Lesson from a few years ago - Jack Daniel’s 1litre is one of the most stolen items (by value) in a supermarket. At Christmas stores were instructed to put a large pallet board display at the front of the store. Massive sales, and therefore profit but with some stock stolen (c.8% iirc).

One store manager thought he knew better and didn’t put the display out at the front of the store, leaving 2 facings of the item in the spirits aisle. No sales, less shoplifting but no profit. And dissatisfied customers who couldn’t buy the special offer…

Said store had a warehouse full of Jack Daniel’s until the following Christmas….

 

[SuspectUsual]

Supermarkets generally avoid this because putting an item behind a counter kills sales and therefore profit

Absolutely

Apart from security, the only other (much smaller) benefit of items behind the counter is that it’s a true measure of original customer demand, because the customer has to ask for what they want

With stuff on the main shelves, if the item the customer can’t find wants is out of stock they’ll buy something else or not buy anything at all.

 

[Peter Sarf]

Absolutely

Apart from security, the only other (much smaller) benefit of items behind the counter is that it’s a true measure of original customer demand, because the customer has to ask for what they want

With stuff on the main shelves, if the item the customer can’t find wants is out of stock they’ll buy something else or not buy anything at all.

Customers will often buy things they never really needed. Self service in small supermarkets was so successful it led to the demise of the corner shops like "Arkwrights". Then led to bigger and bigger supermarkets. Hypermarkets even !.

Self service capitalises on the following.
The average humans browsing and gathering instincts go back a long way - to the days we wandered the land looking for berries etc and gathering what we saw. Then came tilling the land and growing crops. Then came rearing animals captive instead of hunting what we could see.

Paying came along later. First it was barter then cash. Now, many minutes after deciding to take an interest in an item, its just a plastic card that most people do not associate with - money.

So going back to being served would lose the shops a lot of money but possibly save us punters money.